


i tried to reach you, i can't hide

by 1FantasticBeastThatYouCantFind



Category: Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Oblivious, Trust Issues, Wingman Sisu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-19 07:49:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29871471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1FantasticBeastThatYouCantFind/pseuds/1FantasticBeastThatYouCantFind
Summary: Sisu discovers Raya's big secret.Well, it's only a secret to Raya and Namaari, at least.
Relationships: Namaari/Raya (Disney)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 281





	i tried to reach you, i can't hide

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from "Can We Kiss Forever?" by Kina: https://youtu.be/DKbfBSrjVHA
> 
> **COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK ARE GREATLY APPRICIATED**

Raya was having soup all by herself. It was nice to get away from it all for a few minutes and just have a moment to herself. After bringing everyone back from a state of being frozen as a statue and reuniting the five kingdoms, sometimes it was just nice to stretch your feet and have some alone time. That was why she was alone. Absolutely. No other reason.

"I know what's going on with you", said Sisu, disrupting Raya's train of thought.

It would be hard for anyone to try and have some alone time when their best friend is a magic dragon.

"How long have you been sitting here", asked Raya, almost embarrassed.

"Too long", she said, cheekily. "To be honest, I spent most of the time trying to figure out what to say. But now I do know what to say and that's that I know what's going on with you!"

Raya rolled her eyes. "Please. You don't know what-"

"You're avoiding Namaari, aren't you", asked Sisu in a tone both confident and smug.

Raya found herself turning a shade of red that was almost the same shade as her cape. Sisu of all people (or rather, dragons) had her all figured out. "How did you figure that out?"

Sisu playfully scoffed. "I mean, we all noticed how you've been trying your best not to be in the same room with her. And how you don't wave back to her. And how you try to avoid eye contact with her. And how you-"

"Okay", Raya blurted out, slightly annoyed. "I get it!" She let out an exasperated groan. She wasn't annoyed with Sisu. She was just frustrated. Her secret was out. Sisu had her all figured out. She sighed, embarrassed. "So", she began, awkwardly tucking her hair. "You know about Namaari and I?"

"Yeah, I do", Sisu teased.

Raya nervously cleared her throat. "You know I'm in love with Namaari?"

Sisu's jaw dropped. "YOU'RE IN LOVE IN NAMAAR-"

Raya used all of her strength to keep Sisu's snout shut. "Shhhhhh! I don't want the whole of Kumandra to hear you!" Sisu kept making mumbling noises and writhing around, trying to shake Raya off her. But Raya continued to persevere, determined that her big secret isn't discovered. In the ensuing chaos, Raya and Sisu managed to lock eyes and, in that moment, Sisu saw the pleading look of desperation in Raya's eyes. Not only did she know in that moment that Raya was telling the truth but also that she was determined not to let anyone know. Sisu went still and rested on all four of her talons. 

"Promise to keep this a secret?" Sisu, whose snout was still being held by Raya, nodded. Raya took a deep breath before cautiously releasing her friend. 

Sisu gasped for air. "You know that's the second time you almost killed me!?"

Raya solemnly removed her hat and held it in her hands so she had something to grip. "I'm sorry"

Sisu snickered and nudged her friend, cheering up just a bit. "Ah, I'm just messing with you." She moved closer to Raya. "So you're really in love in Namaari", she asked in a hushed tone.

"Yes! That's not what you thought was going on?"

"I thought you owed her some jade."

"What?"

"I thought that you owed her some jade and that you didn't have enough so that's why you kept avoiding her"

"First of all, I have more than enough jade. Second of all-" She noticed Sisu was smirking at her again. "What?"

Sisu rested her head on one of her talons. "How long have you liked her?", she asked, tauntingly.

Raya sighed wistfully, as she leaned against her dragon friend. "I guess... It must have been the day I first met her." She smiled, looking back on the day she saw the girl her age when all of tribes of Kumandra came together. She was nervous. Afraid, even. But all that changed when she saw Namaari. "I remember when I locked eyes with her, Those beautiful brown eyes. And that undercut. And her smile."

"Careful what you say, Raya. Or you're gonna end up making me fall in love with her too."

Raya chuckled. "I remember talking with her. We had a lot in common. Mostly our interest in dragons" Raya's smile kept growing the more she thought about that day. She loved looking back on that hour she spent with Namaari. The hour where time seemed to stand still and the world seemed to stop turning. The hour before it all went wrong. 

Raya's smile faded quickly. "Then, she betrayed me. And that's when... it happened" Sisu could feel Raya shudder when remembering the six years when the Druun reemerged and turned everyone to stone, including everyone from the Heart land.

"I remember feeling nothing but this intense, burning hatred whenever I thought of her. At first, I thought it was because of what she did."

"It wasn't", asked a perplexed Sisu. "I mean, I would definitely be mad about tha- Sorry. You were saying?"

"I mean, that was part of it. To be honest, though, the other part of it was..." Raya trailed off. She was almost afraid to continue. "Never mind. It's stupid."

Sisu, however, kept tapping Raya on the back with her tail. "Hey, c'mon! It's just you and me here! You can tell me anything!"

Raya sighed, affectionately this time. "One of these days, I'll learn how to say no to you."

"But that day isn't today! So, c'mon! Dish, Raya! Dish!"

"Okay, okay. I'll tell you. So the other reason I was mad was..." She closed her eyes, as if the experience of reliving those lonely six years was too painful to watch. "I loved her. I know, it sounds dumb. We only knew each other for an hour and we were only twelve when it happened. But that's the truth. I really thought I loved her. That's why what she did hurt so much. I'm glad we're friends again. I'm just worried about the idea that she doesn't love me back."

Raya looked up at Sisu to see that she was, to her surprise, smiling dreamily. "Yeah. Takes me back to my first crush. Soledad. She was this really cool dragon who had a white head but the rest of her was pink and blue. She was so pretty."

"So how did you handle that?"

"Well, I was about to talk to her, ask her to hang out, and all that stuff. But then the Druun attacked and she turned to stone"

Raya felt the room had become even more awkward than it was when she was talking. "Okay, but... What about after we brought everyone back?"

"Oh, I dunno", Sisu shrugged. "Once I saw her again, I got afraid again and ran away."

"Oh."

"You know, she's a shapeshifter too. Just like my sis-" Sisu gasped with realization. "Wait, I'm a shapeshifter now! Oh my god! We can hang out together as dragons AND humans! Oh, that'd be so amazing. I can picture it now. I should really try and meet up with her."

"Can I ask something", Raya interjected.

"Oh, right. We were... talking about Namaari", SIsu muttered, embarrassed. "Sorry. What did you wanna ask?"

"Was what I said stupid?"

Sisu scoffed. "Nah. That's not stupid. If anything, I feel stupid. Everyone kept saying 'Raya totally has a crush on Namaari' and I said 'Nuh-uh. She just owes her some-"

Something Sisu said almost caused Raya to scream. "Woah, wait a second! What did everyone say!?"

"Oh, they said that you were in love with Namaari"

"Everyone!?"

Sisu slapped Raya on the back as she cackled. "Don't worry. Namaari doesn't know! In fact, she thinks that-" Sisu suddenly stopped talking. She stopped laughing as well. Her smile had fallen.

"She what? What is it?"

"Raya", Sisu began, solemnly. "Namaari thinks that you're avoiding her because you're still mad at her. That's actually why I was looking for you. I wanted to tell you that you should really talk to her about whatever's going on."

Raya felt the shame rise within her. She finally got Namaari back and she was starting to drive her away. There was only one thing she could do now. "Sisu. Where is she?"

Namaari wasn't in her homeland of Fang. Instead, she was in the land of Heart, standing in the inner circle where the Dragon Gem once stood. The spot where Raya showed her the tribe's biggest secret six years prior. The spot where she had betrayed Raya.

The Gem was now in the possession of the dragons who had created it all those years ago. This made the garden where it was once kept the perfect spot to be alone. Namaari stood there, trying her best not to cry. She could if she wanted to, however. It was becoming more and more likely as she thought of what she had done when they were younger.

Every time Namaari would so much as wave at her, Raya would immediately start running in the other direction. Namaari had believed that when Raya had taken the step forward and given her the piece of the Gem, it meant that she had forgiven her for everything. But now she believed that Raya had only done that because it was a life-or-death situation.

Namaari wasn't even angry with Raya. She was angry with herself. If she could turn back time and undo it all, she would. Anything to stop Raya from being mad at her. She gripped her fists as tight as she could. She could feel her eyes begin to well. She sniffled. But right before she finally broke down into tears, she heard a very familiar voice.

"Namaari?"

Namaari looked up and saw that, to her surprise, Raya was standing right in front of her. Namarri quickly rubbed her eyes to make sure Raya couldn't see that she was about to cry. "Raya! I, uh, I didn't see you there."

Raya didn't say anything. She subtly shifted her eyes so she could see behind Namaari. Sisu, in her human form to keep her well-hidden, was standing in the entryway to give Raya any pointers or signals if she needed any. She gestured to Raya to continue talking.

Raya began to brush her hair, unsure of what to do with her hands. "You look nice", she said, flashing up an awkward smile.

Namaari sighed, sullenly. "Raya, I am so sorry for-"

Acting completely on impulse, Raya had suddenly reached up, held Namaari's face in her hands and kissed hher full on the mouth. Namaari was in shock at first. But as her and Raya's lips stayed locked, she gently closed her eyes, wanting to take in and savor the moment for long as she could. She brushed her hand through Raya's long, dark, and silk-like hair. Raya, meanwhile, put her arms around the woman she loved, as a way of telling her that she loved her and that she wanted her to know.

Sisu stood in the entryway, completely dumbfounded. She did not expect it to happen this quickly. In fact, the whole experience had gotten her thinking.

Raya pulled away from Namaari and put on a nervous but genuine smile.

Namaari chuckled, unsurely. "Oh," It wasn't much but Raya knew what it meant.

"Yeah", said Raya. "Sisu told me that you thought I was still mad at you. But I just want you to know that things are different now. I could never be mad at you. Never again."

A few tears had finally began to track down Namaari's face. "Thank you", said Namaari, smiling as she wiped them away. "Just don't run away from me again. Please."

"I promise, dep la" Raya put her hand on Namaari's cheek. Namaari held onto Raya's hand, determined to hold it for as long as possible. "I just wish we had met under different circumstances. Avoided those six years of fighting."

Namaari stifled a laugh. "This is actually embarrassing but... That was my idea", she winced. "My mom had a different plan but I came up with the idea to steal the Gem once you showed it to me"

Raya thought back to when she had first met Namaari, as well as this new information. There was still one part that confused her. "Well, wait. Then, why did your mother tell you to go up and talk to me?"

Now Namaari was the one turning red. While she was looking into Raya's eyes before, now she was trying her best to avoid them. "Um, my mother's plan", she started, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck. "was to arrange a marriage between the two of us to unite our two lands.

Raya's eyes widened. "Oh! Oh, marriage!" She found herself shaking with anxiety. "That's, uh..."

Raya tried to look behind Namaari to see if Sisu was trying to give her any tips right now. She thought she could definitely use them. To her surprise, however, Sisu had completely vanished. Apparently, the moment between Raya and Namaari instilled enough confidence in Sisu to finally talk to Soledad about how she felt so she immediately transformed back into a dragon and raced out of the sanctuary, leaving Raya and Namaari all alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Also, yes. I did base the description of Sisu's crush off of Sisu's original design revealed at D23.


End file.
